Bill passes banning texting and driving in Florida

First violation is $30 fine

A House panel has passed a bill Tuesday creating a statewide ban on texting while driving.

The bill, HB 13, was cleared by the House Economics Affair committee by a 16-1 vote. Chairman Jimmy Patronis was the only vote against. The Panama City Republican was concerned about government intrusion into people's lives.

The ban is enforceable only as a secondary offense, meaning that police have to first stop drivers for another offense such as speeding. A first violation is a $30 fine.

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The statewide ban includes typing a text or reading a text while driving on both a tablet computer or a mobile phone. It excludes using a "talk-to-text" feature and allows texting while stopped at a red light.

A companion bill (SB 52) is in the Senate.

Copyright 2013 by ClickOrlando.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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